


Below the Waves

by ssamandiriel



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Gen, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-08
Updated: 2013-11-19
Packaged: 2017-12-28 20:36:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/996409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssamandiriel/pseuds/ssamandiriel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren Yeager has and unexpected meeting with one of the beings that live above the sea. What happens when they want more than just a glimpse of him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Up and Out

**Author's Note:**

> To the mermaids and merman underwater, talking for them is like singing to us. So, when they're out of the water, it sounds like they're singing instead of talking. Imagine living there, huh? It would be like tons of different concerts going on at once! But, I suppose that wouldn't bother them because that's how they're raised to communicate.  
> Anyway, enjoy!

In the dark depths of the ocean blue, there lies a civilization unbeknownst to humans. Creatures that are know as fairy tales to humans reside there. Creatures known as mermaids and merman.

And that’s where this story begins.

Eren Yeager was out doing his daily tasks for his colony when he heard someone yell behind him.

“Look out!”

Eren turned to looked behind him and saw his friend Armin swimming towards him.

“Armin? What are you-?”

Before Eren could finish his sentence, he saw something hurl past him in a wave of sparkling scarlet and black.

“Was that Mikasa? What is she doing?”

“You had a no-tail behind you!” Armin yelled.

“What?”

“A no-tail, Eren.” Mikasa replied as she swam back towards the two. “You need to be more careful.”

“What did you do with it?” Armin asked, panic evident in his voice.

“I chased it away. They’re easily scared.” Mikasa answered.

“Are you sure that’s all you did to it? They don’t seem like they would be easily scared off. They have weird machines on their backs and-.”

“I think those help them breathe.”

“What? What makes you think that?”

“Well, no-tails don’t have any gills like us, right?” Armin continued after they nodded, “So, they need something to help them breathe, if they want to be underwater for a while.”

“Oh, yeah, that makes sense.”

Armin smiled and Mikasa grabbed both of them by their arms, dragging them back to their colony.

~

When they reached the colony, their friend Connie came swimming up to them.

“Hey, Eren! Is it true?”

“Is what true?”

“That you saw a no-tail up close?”

“Not really, it was behind me. Mikasa was the one who saw it up close.”

"Oh, well then, Mikasa? What was it like? Are the stories about them true?"

Before she knew it, Mikasa had about five or six of their fellow colonists around her, all asking her questions about the no-tail. She glared at Eren.

Eren laughed as he grabbed Armin’s hand and dragged him further into the colony.

“Shouldn’t we have told them to leave her alone?”

“Nah, she’ll be fine. Maybe she’ll make some new friends. All we have right now are sorta acquaintances and enemies.”

“Hey, Eren!” Eren heard someone shout behind him.

“Speaking of enemies.” He muttered to Armin. 

“I heard you saw a no-tail.”

“How did you guys even hear so fast? We just got back!”

“Christa was worried about you so she followed you. She ran away when the no-tail showed up, though.”

“Wow. Whatever, what do you want, Jean?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to make sure she wasn’t lying.”

“Okay, then would you mind moving? You’re in our way.” Eren asked, irritated.

“You have the _entire_ fucking ocean. Swim around me.”

Eren sighed dramatically as he made a show of swimming around Jean.

Jean smirked as he asked, “Was that so hard?”

“Fuck you!” Eren yelled as he swam away.

Armin apologized to Jean for Eren’s sake and swam after him.

“Didn’t you just say Mikasa needs to make more friends? Shouldn’t _you_ be making more, too? You should at least try being nice to Jean.”

Eren scoffed. “You want me to be nice to that asshole? I’ll be nice to him as soon as he starts being nice to me.”

Armin sighed. “That’s not how it works, Eren.” 

“Well, whatever. Come on, let’s go do something.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know- what?!” Eren panicked as he felt something wrap around his body. “Armin what’s going on?!”

“It’s the no-tail again! They wrapped a net around you!”

“Can you find an opening anywhere? Armin!”

“I’m looking!” As Armin swam around the net, Eren struggled against it. “I don’t see an opening! Grab my hand! Hurry!”

Eren tried to hold out his left hand, but the holes of the net were too small.

“Eren!”

 _“Armin, I’m sorry.”_ Eren mouths.

“Wait! Eren!”

All Eren sees before he’s pulled up and out of the ocean is Armin staring down at his open hand as his tears mix with the ocean water.

Instead of Eren’s hand in his, Armin had one of the dark blue scales from Eren’s arm. He looked back up as his friend was dragged out of the ocean and he almost swam after him but his tail being pulled on stopped him.

“Mikasa? Let me go! We can still catch up to him!”

“If we do go after him, we’ll end up in the same situation as him. Do you really think Eren would want that?” Mikasa insisted.

“But-.”

“Armin.” Mikasa whispered, voice almost inaudible. “Please.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault. Come on, let’s make a plan to somehow get him back.”

~

“You can start the boat back up, Captain. We caught it.”

“Alright, set course back to the lab.”

A petite blonde girl sighed as she walked over to one of the other members of the crew.

“Is this a good idea? Should we have really caught him? What if his friends come after us? Look at what the female one did to me!” She held out her arm, covered in scratches and bruises. “If one of them can manage that what will we do if there’s more?!”

“Weren’t you the one that went underwater and alerted the captain of the mermaids? You could’ve just lied.”

“Then how would I have explained the injuries, Auruo?”

Auruo shrugged. “You crashed into some coral?”

“You’re an idiot.” Petra said, trying to hold back her smile.

“Petra, Auruo! Take care of that thing, he reeks of dead fish.”

“Aye, captain!”

“Um, sir? What would you like us to do with him?”

“Take him into the showers and clean him up. And every so often, turn the shower on so he doesn’t dry up. We’ll have to do that until we reach the lab and get him a tank.”

“Alright, Petra, you pick up his arms and I’ll get his tail.”

Auruo took the net off of their catch and bent down to grab his tail. Before he could grab it Eren smacked his tail against Auruo’s legs, causing him to fall over into the net.

Petra laughed as she walked over to him, and held out her hand. “Are you okay?” She asked between giggles.

“I think I bit my tongue.” He answered as he grabbed her hand.

“Alright, how about I grab his tail and you grab his arms?”

“Will that really be any better?”

“I guess we’ll find out.” She walked over to Eren and smiled at him. “Hi, there. My name’s Petra and that’s Auruo.” She continued when he looked between the two of them, then back at her. “Now, all we want to do is pick you up and bring you into the showers so you don’t dry up, okay? Do you understand?”

Eren just blinked.

“I’m going to take that as a yes.” She bent down and reached for his tail. “Okay, I’m gonna pick your tail up now.”

Eren moved his tail up, Petra was afraid he was going to hit her but all he did was make it easier for her to reach his tail.

She smiled. “Thank you.” She looked over at Auruo. “Alright, now grab his arms.”

Auruo complied and Eren surprisingly let him.  

~

After they washed Eren off enough times to make him smell more like green apples than dead fish, Petra and Auruo asked him questions.

“So, can you even understand us or are we just wasting our time here?”

“Auruo!”

_“I can understand some things you no-tails say, but not much.”_

“You sang! And I understood what you said! But you sang? How does that work?”

_“Is this not the correct way to communicate?”_

“Well, I wouldn’t really say it’s not correct, but it’s just confusing that you sound like an opera singer but I also heard words in my head.”

_“That’s because you touched me.”_

“What?”

_“Whenever a no-tail touches a mer-person’s scales they’re able to understand them.”_

“That’s all fine and dandy but why do you keep calling us no-tails like it’s a bad thing?” Auruo questioned.

_“You no-tails are a danger to my colony.”_

“Oh. Sorry, then?”

Eren didn’t answer, he just stared down at his left arm which was riddled with dark blue and lime green scales.

“A few are missing.”

_“What?”_

“Your scales…” Petra supplied. “They’re some missing. How come?”

Eren froze, suddenly remember what happened. He backed up to the farthest corner of the shower, refusing to look at either of them.

Petra looked over at Auruo. “Was it something I said?” He shrugged.

“U-um, well, you know what I just realized? We still don’t know your name.”

Eren looked up at her but Petra felt like he was looking right through her.

“It’s okay, you don’t-.”

_“Eren.”_

She smiled. “Such a simple name sounds so lovely when you sing it.”

“Alright,” Auruo cut in, “Let’s change the subject.”

_“To what?”_

“Oh, I know! Eren, would you mind telling us about your friends in the ocean?”

_“Well, their names are Mikasa and Armin.”_

“Do they have pretty scales like you?”

“I guess. Mikasa has a black tale with some red scales around it. And Armin’s is all gold with some aqua scales.”

“Ah, I wish I could see them,” Petra sighed.

Eren glared at her, _“Don't even thing about going near them."_

“Sorry.”

~

A few hours after that, Petra and Auruo had learned as much about Eren and his colony that he would speak of. Eren eventually fell asleep while Auruo was telling a story and it took Petra all she had to not laugh and chance waking Eren up.

“Jeez, he’s just like a human kid. What a brat.” 

“Now that you mention that, I wonder how old he is?”

Auruo shrugged, “Who cares? Just douse him with some water so he doesn’t shrivel up while he’s sleeping.”

Petra tried as carefully as she could to do so, making sure not to wake him up.

“Alright, let’s go report to the captain and get some rest.”

Petra smiled as she took one last look at Eren’s sleeping face before shutting off the lights in the shower room.  


	2. Location, location, location!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter time!
> 
> Now for this chapter, it'll be in the POV of the humans before they captured Eren. I decided to write it like that just so I could patch up a few things before Eren was caught. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Levi looked up from the paperwork on his desk when he heard a knock on his office door. 

“Come in.” Levi ordered.

One of the men part of Levi's crew, Gunter walked in. “Captain, we received another eyewitness account about the mermaids.” He reported. 

Levi rubbed his temples and sighed. “If it's from another asshat pretending to be a sailor please don't waste my time with it.” 

“No, sir, I think this one is the real deal. They even attached pictures with the letter.” 

“Alright, hand them to me. If the pictures are even slightly blurry I'm docking your pay, Gunter.” Levi warned. 

“Yes, sir.” He handed the letter and pictures to Levi and took a step back. 

Levi looked down at the pictures the witness took and nodded to himself. They were definitely real and better quality than any of the other ones they've received. 

There were three pictures; the focal point of the first one was taken above and it showed something blue and sparkling in the water. The second one looked like it was taken in the water and you could clearly see a mermaid's icy blue scales glittering from the small amount of sunlight reaching it. The third, and last one, was a shot of a group of three mermaids, two male and one female.

“So, the person that took these photos were able to get this close to the group, but they weren't able to catch them?”

Gunter shook his head. “They didn't have a net, sir.” 

“Well, at least these were useful for our research.” 

“They were?” 

Levi held up the third photo. “Mermaids and merman have natural hair colors. See? Two blondes and one brunette.”

“Isn't that a given though, sir?” 

“Hey, Gunter?” 

“Yes?” 

“Bring in Petra and Auruo for me, I have a job for them.” 

Gunter nodded as he stood up and walked out of Levi's office. 

~

“You called for us, sir?” 

“Petra, I need you to put on a diving suit and go underwater. We've received another eyewitness account on the mermaids living in the ocean. I need you to find them.” He turned to Auruo. “I need you to drive the boat to these coordinates, they're from the witness. And make sure Petra gets in and out of the water safely.”

“Do we need to bring a camera with us?”

“No, I just need proof that this is actually worth our time. Report back to me when you're done.” 

“Yes, sir!” 

~

“I'm having second thoughts about this. Should we really do this?” Petra asked once they were out of the captain’s office. 

“Oh thinking about disobeying the captain, are you? That doesn't seem like you.” Auruo put a hand over his mouth. “Who are you and what have you done with my Petra?” 

Petra shoved at Auruo and laughed. “Shut up. I'll still go underwater but I just don't feel like it's the right thing to do.” 

“Do you want me to do it for you?” 

“No, just shut up and drive the boat.” 

“Yes, ma'am!” 

~

“Petra, grab my hand.” 

“I'm not grabbing your hand. Get it out of my face. I can get into the water myself.” 

“But if you hurt yourself, it'll be my fault and the captain won't give me that promotion I was hoping for.” 

“Oh well.” Petra smirked as she jumped off the boat and into the water.

A few minutes afterward, Auruo contacted Petra through her underwater walkie-talkie. 

“See anything yet?” 

“Nope, nothing yet but water and seaweed.” She answered. “Oh, wait, would you look at that! More seaweed.” 

“Don't be a smart ass. Just let me know-.”

“Wait, Auruo! There's something in front of me!” 

“What? What is it? Petra?!” 

Auruo started to panic when nothing but static was coming from Petra's line. 

“Petra! You better not be messing with me right now!” 

Petra's voice eventually filtered through the walkie-talkie. “Auruo? You there?”

“God, Petra! Don't do that!”

“It wasn't my fault! I found a group of mermaids. There were three of them, but they weren't the ones in the photo.” 

“You mean there's more?” 

“Yeah, there's probably tons of them. But I don't have time to explore anymore; there was a female one and she attacked me- it's not bad though! I'm fine, just a few scratches. I think she damaged my oxygen tank so I'm gonna come to the surface, okay?” 

“Yeah, yeah. Alright sounds like a plan.” 

A few minutes after Petra got back onto the boat, Auruo started it back up. 

“Look at the pictures I got of them. Their scales are gorgeous!” Petra exclaimed when she got onto the boat. 

“You're covered in cuts and scratches and the first thing on your mind is the pictures? And didn't the captain say not to bring the camera?” 

“No, he said we didn't have to take it with us. But I'm not going to let a once in a life time chance pass me by!” 

“Whatever.” Auruo turned his attention back to the waves in front him. “Sit down, unless you'd like to be back in the water.” 

“Hmm.” Petra acknowledged, too busy looking at the photos she took. 

~  
Petra and Auruo walked to the captain's office when they reached the lab. 

“Are you coming with me?” 

“Hell no. You're the one he asked to dive, so you get to report your findings.” 

Petra sighed. “You suck.” 

“Only on the weekends! Good luck!” 

Petra walked up to Levi's office and knocked on the door. 

“Come in.” 

Levi looked up from something on his desk when Petra walked in. 

“So, did you find anything worth my time?” 

“Yes, sir. I found another group of mermaids different from the ones in the photos from the eyewitness.”

“Really?” Levi sighed. “I owe Hanji ten bucks now.” 

“Sir?” 

“It's nothing. Just be ready by five tomorrow morning. We'll go out to those coordinates and see if we can capture one of the mermaids you found.” 

Petra nodded and headed for the door. 

“Oh, and Petra?” 

She turned back to look at Levi. “Yes, sir?” 

“Good job today.” 

She smiled. “Thank you.” 

~

“Five in the morning?!” Auruo yelled when Petra told him what the captain had said. 

“I tell you that we have to capture a mermaid and you're worried about waking up early?" 

“Yes, because why five?! Does he think the mermaids will be asleep or something?!" 

Petra sighed. "You're still missing the point." 

"Whatever. "I'm going to bed." Auruo yawned as he walked towards his room. 

"Fine. Good night!"

Auruo waved in acknowledgment. 

~

Petra banged on the door that leads to Auruo's room. “Auruo! It's five! You need to get up! Auruo!” 

“I'm up goddammit! Give me two seconds!” 

Petra stepped back a little when Auruo opened the door. 

“Auruo.” 

“What is it now?”

“You're still in your boxers.” 

Petra laughed as Auruo slammed the door in her face. 

“Hurry up or I'm gonna go without you!” 

“Wait, I'm done! Alright, come on.” Auruo opened the door back up and smiled at Petra. 

“You're an idiot.” 

“Hey!” 

~

“Ah, the love birds are finally here. What took you so long, thought you could sneak something in before five?” 

“It's not like that, captain!”

“Can we just hurry this up?” Auruo muttered. 

“What was that, Auruo?” 

“N-nothing!”

“That's what I thought. Alright, before we get going, I want to introduce the eye witness that gave us the photos and coordinates. He'll be joining our mermaid hunt today.”

The eyewitness smiled. 

“Alright, start the boat up, Erd!” 

“Yes, sir!” 

~

“Excuse me, captain? We've been out here for two hours, are you sure your crew gave you the right coordinates?”

“I'm positive. And, if you're suggesting that you think Petra and Auruo were lying, I won't hesitate to throw you overboard. I trust my crew with my life, they'd never lie to me.” 

“Oh, would you look at that!” Auruo pointed at something blue and sparkling in the water. “I wonder what that could be!” 

“Good eye, Auruo!” Petra praised. “Hmm, I guess we weren't lying after all!” 

The eyewitness glared at them.

Petra smiled as she grabbed the net and threw it into the water. 

“Okay now just wait until you feel the tug, that's how you know we caught it.” 

A few minutes afterward, Petra felt a tug on the net and she tried pulling it up. 

“I could use some help here!” 

“At your service.” Auruo said as he slipped behind her and helped her pull the net up. 

They both pulled as hard as they could and both fell over when they finally pulled the mermaid up. 

“It's a boy!” Auruo joked.

“You can start the boat back up, captain. We caught it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be back to the regular way. It'll start off where chapter one ended. 
> 
> Oh and in case you couldn't tell, Annie was the mermaid in the first and second photo, and her, Bertholdt, and Reiner were the group in the third photo. And the group Petra found was Mikasa, Eren, and Armin.


	3. Best Friends Forever?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is like a day late, I had some school stuff I had to do.
> 
> But, um, hopefully you'll forgive me and enjoy the new chapter!

Petra rubbed her eyes and slowly trudged across the room when she heard a knock on her door. 

She opened the door and looked at who had woken her up. 

“You're still in your pajamas.” They noted. 

She looked over at her alarm clock and yawned. 

“It's six in the morning what do you want, Auruo?” 

“The captain told me to come wake you up so you could wake the brat up. Well, actually the captain told Erd and then Erd told me.” 

“You don't need to elaborate,  I get it. And why are you calling Eren a brat so much lately? Are you trying to be more like the captain?” 

“No, I just-.”

“Wait,” She interrupted, “never mind that. Why do I have to wake Eren up?” 

“Oh, because we've finally reached the docks near the lab.” 

Petra groaned. “Doesn't that mean we still have to walk to the lab? Isn't it like thirty minutes away?” 

“No they brought cars so we don't have to walk, don't worry. We get a separate one because no one wants to sit with Eren.” 

“How rude.” 

Auruo shrugged. “Nothing we can do about. Now come on, hurry up and get dressed or we'll be late.” 

Petra placed a hand on Auruo's chest when he started to walk into her room. 

“What do you think you're doing?” 

“What? I can't come in?” 

“Not while I'm changing!” 

“Aw.” Auruo pouted. “Not even a little peek?”

“Bye!” Petra shouted when she slammed the door in his face.

~

“Alright.” Petra said when she opened up her door. “I'm all done.”

“I can see that.”

Petra rolled her eyes. “Okay, ignoring that, I wake up Eren, and then what? We take him to one of the cars on the cart?” 

“Nope. We have to carry him. The captain doesn't want the cart to be taken off the boat and even if he did allow us to use it, we wouldn't have anywhere to put it once we got Eren into the car.” 

Petra sighed. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. But you're carrying him.”

“Ugh. Fine.” 

~

“Eren. Eren!” 

Eren opened his eyes and looked up to find Petra and Auruo staring down at him. 

_“_ _What's wrong?”_  

“We've reached the lab. We're at the docks a few miles away from it though, so we'll have to take a car there.”

_“_ _Car?”_

“Oh! Right, I completely forgot! You probably don't know much about anything above water, do you? Well, come on, we'll show you what a car looks like.” 

_“_ _Can I sleep in it?”_

Petra smiled. “If you want to, yeah.” 

_“_ _I'm up for it.”_

Eren held out his arms and Auruo picked him up. He shifted Eren's weight from arm to arm and then asked, “How come you're so much lighter?” 

_“Maybe it's because when you picked me up before, my scales had soaked in the ocean water so I wouldn't dry out.”_

“Oh, yeah, that reminds me! We should probably spray you down before we bring you to lab. We don't know if they brought the tank in yet. So, Auruo, set him back down in the shower and turn it on.” 

Auruo gently put Eren back in the shower and turned the water on. He sat down on the ledge of the shower and watched Eren to make sure the temperature was okay.

Eren smiled and leaned his head back, relishing in the feel of the water against his skin and scales.

Petra threw a towel at Auruo and said,  “Bring that with you so you won't get the car or yourself wet when you pick Eren up.” 

“Good idea.” 

_“_ _Alright, I should be fine for a while.”_

Auruo wrapped the towel around his upper body and picked Eren back up.

“Whoa!” He exclaimed when he almost fell over. “Damn, a little water makes a big difference. I wasn't expecting that.” 

_“_ _Sorry.”_  Eren muttered. 

“'S not your fault, don't worry.” 

Eren wrapped his arms around Auruo's neck as he was afraid he would be dropped by him. 

Auruo jumped when Eren's fingers touched his neck. “You have webbed fingers?” 

_“_ _Yeah. You're just noticing now?”_

“Hey, don't be a jerk!” 

“Aw, you two were just being so nice and cute together, what happened?” 

Petra laughed when a twin pair of glares were sent her way. 

“Whatever.” Auruo grumbled. “Come on, let's go before we're even later.” 

~

Levi turned when he heard footsteps approaching him. 

“Took you long enough. What happened, did I interrupt your threesome?” 

“Captain! Please don't make those jokes in front of Eren!” 

“Oh, so the catch of the day has a name?” 

Auruo's eyes widened when he felt a growl rumbling from Eren's chest. 

“Eren.” He whispered. “Calm down. If the captain gets mad at you, you're done for.” 

Eren settled down and buried his head in Auruo's shoulder in favor of watching the captain stare at him like he was a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe. 

“Seems like he's taken a liken to you. Let's hope he doesn't turn on you when he finds out you're the ones who're responsible for his capture.”

Eren whipped his up to look at Levi as he snarled out,  _“That's not true!”_

“Um, oh, looks like the car's here! See you at the lab, captain!”

Levi walked away and waved his hand in response. 

~

Auruo sighed when he closed the car door. “This job is more trouble then it's worth.”

He groaned when he felt something wet on his neck. “Eren please tell me you're not drooling on me.” 

Eren lifted his head from Auruo's neck and Auruo's eyes widened when he saw the tears rolling down his cheeks. 

_“_ _He was lying right?”_

“W-well, um no, not really.” He turned to Petra. “Help me out here?” 

_“_ _I was starting to like him, too.”_  Eren growled out before Petra could say anything. _“I was starting to think he was kind of nice because he told you to take care of me and he said he would get me a tank. And he didn't have to do that, he could have just left me to dry out, but he didn't and I thought that was really nice of him to do.”_

“He has his moments.” 

_“_ _But then he goes and says that! I would have much rather lived without knowing that.”_

“Do you still want to be friends with us?”

_“_ _I don't know.”_

Petra leaned over and wiped the tears from Eren's face. She smiled as she said, “It's okay if you don't want to, we understand.” 

Eren buried his head in Auruo's shoulder again and refused to answer. 

Auruo looked over at Petra and shrugged. “Oh well.” He mouthed. 

He ran his hands through Eren's hair and smiled when he eventually heard the merman's soft snores. 

~

“Eren wake up, we're here!”

Eren yawned and stretched his arms out and Petra smiled at how cute and human-like it was.

“Petra, get out and open my door.” 

“Isn't it usually the man that opens the door for the woman?” 

“Usually, yes. But the story's different when there's a mermaid in the man's lap.” 

_“_ _Merman.”_  Eren corrected. 

“Right, sorry.” 

Petra sighed as she got out of the car and went over to the other side and opened Auruo's door. 

“Thanks.” 

“Don't mention it.” 

“Alright.” Auruo said once he was out of the car. “Let's go meet the captain and the rest of the crew at the lab.” 

“Hopefully they'll have your tank set up, Eren.” 

Eren nodded. 

“Well, let's go in.” 

Petra opened up the doors to lab and Eren let out a small breath.

_“_ _Whoa.”_

 


	4. The Scientist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this chapter is the longest I've written for this story yet: 2375 words!!
> 
> Oh and two new characters are being introduced today, Hanji and her lovely assistant, Moblit!
> 
> Enjoy!

The lab is huge, way bigger than Eren expected and bigger than the small rocky cove where Eren used to call home.

He feels a pang in his chest when he thinks that because now this lab filled with strange people and strange machinery, is his home. He'll probably never get to see his friends or family again, never get to feel the ocean water on his scales and fins, never get to-.

“Eren?” Petra asked, interrupting his thoughts.

Eren blinks and looks over at her. _“Yeah?”_

“What do you think?”

“ _It's huge.”_ He breathed out.

Petra smiled. “Yeah?”

“That's funny, didn't you come from the ocean? Shouldn't this place be small compared to that?' Auruo questioned as he hiked Eren up when he started to slip.

“ _Well, I was in the ocean, but the cove I actually lived in was smaller than this.”_ Eren answered.

“Oh.” Was all Auruo had the chance to say before one of the of the workers at the lab walked up to them.

“Hi, I'm guessing you're Petra and Auruo? Unless there's someone else that's bringing a mermaid in today.”

“Nope, that would be us.” Auruo replied.

“Great, follow me.”

Auruo bumped his elbow against Petra and motioned for her to stay a little ways behind the worker.

“What do you want?”

When Auruo thought they were far enough away he whispered, “Do you know who he is?”

Petra shrugged. “No clue.”

“Jeez, a few months out on the water and we've already been replaced.”

The man stopped in front of a room with an open door and said, “Here's your room. The captain said to move you guys in here because it was the only room big enough to fit the tank in it.”

Auruo nodded. “ Okay, but can I ask a question first?

“Go ahead.”

“What's your name?”

“Moblit. And don't worry, I wasn't hired to take your job or anything. I'm Hanji's assistant. The only reason I'm at this part of the lab is to help you guys get situated. Then I'm back with her.”

“Oh, alright. Thanks, I guess.”

He smiled. “No problem. I'll be on the other side of the lab, so just call if you need anything.”

“Will do.”

“Well, he seemed nice.” Petra said when Moblit left.

Eren wiggled around in Auruo's arms. _“Hey, can you put me down now? My tail's starting to cramp up.”_

“Yeah, well how do you think my arm's feel?”

“ _Then put me down!”_

“Now, now, children calm down.” Petra ordered in what could only be called a 'motherly voice'. “Let's get Eren into the tank, okay? Look there's a ladder already set up. All you have to do is walk up and gently place him in the water.”

“Don't treat me like a kid.” Auruo grumbled as he walked up the ladder. “Eren, grab the top of the tank so you don't make a huge splash when I put you in.”

Eren did as he was told and Auruo tried as gently as he could to place Eren in the tank. A little water still splashed over the sides and Auruo sighed.

Eren tested the waters a little before smiling.

“How is it?” Petra asked.

“ _It feels nice. Not as nice as the ocean, but better than siting in the showers.”_

“You're doing that on purpose, aren't you?”

“ _What?”_

“Making us feel bad about you not being in the ocean anymore.”

“ _Well, I mean-.”_

“Hey, you're probably hungry, aren't you?” Auruo interrupted. “You haven't eaten since we got you on the boat, have you?”

“ _Hey, don't cut me off like that. And mer-people don't need to eat that often. But I guess I am a little hungry.”_

“Great because they left us a bucket of fish and I am not sleeping here knowing that's there.” Auruo froze before grabbing the bucket. “Wait, isn't eating fish like, half cannibalism for you?”

“Shh, Auruo, you're becoming too self-aware.” Petra whispered from behind him.

“Ah, don't do that!”

Petra laughed. “You're a baby.”

“Shut up.” Auruo grabbed the bucket and dumped it into the tank.

“ _Thanks.”_ Eren said as he reached for a fish.

“Ugh, watching you is making me sick.”

“ _Then don't watch. You have the ability to move your eyes away, take advantage of it.”_

Petra laughed. “Oh, man, Auruo you're just getting trashed by him today.”

“Shut up, both of you. I'm going to bed.”

Petra yawned. “It is pretty late so I think I will too. Goodnight.”

“Mmm.” Auruo acknowledged, already in bed and wrapped in a blanket.

“Goodnight, Eren.”

Eren dropped a fish from his mouth to reply. _“Goodnight, Petra.”_

_~_

Eren's uncomfortable and he can't sleep. He thinks it's because of the new environment he's living in. The only reason he was so easily able to fall asleep in the shower room was because of how physically exhausted he was.

So now he's lying at the bottom of his tank, tossing and turning every few minutes. He looks over at Petra who's asleep neatly under the covers, and Auruo who's sprawled across the bed in away that reminds Eren of a starfish. 

He starts laughing but it's stopped short when the door opened. He quickly closed his eyes and pretend to sleep. 

Eren slowly opened up one of his eyes to see who had come in. 

“ _The captain?”_ He thought to himself. _“Why is he in here?”_  

Levi looked around the room to make sure everyone was asleep before closing the door behind himself. 

“-yeah, you can come by and look tomorrow if you want. I don't know when you can do the experiments on him, we just brought him in today. Just come by tomorrow and let him get used to you.”

“ _Who is he talking to? And what are experiments?”_  

“Yeah, alright. No, he's sleeping right now-no, Hanji! Bye!” 

Levi sighed and shut his phone off, shoving it into his pocket.

He thought he saw Eren move so he walked up to the tank and tapped on the glass. 

“You _are_ asleep, aren't you?” Levi demanded. 

He shook his head when he didn't get an answer. “Well, I guess I shouldn't expect one.” 

He walked towards the door and took one last glance at Eren's tank before leaving.

Eren sat up and decided that as soon as Auruo and Petra wake up tomorrow, he was going to ask them what an 'experiments' is. 

~

Eren was woken up by the sounds of someone running down the hallway. He sat up in his tank and listened to see if the footsteps were going to stop. 

They did. Right in front of the door to the room he was in. 

He tried banging on the tank to wake up Petra and Auruo, but they were both still sound asleep. 

The door opened and Eren felt like a terrible fate was sealed for him.

A woman he's never seen before walked in and smiled at him.

“Hi there.” She said, her voice shaking. What was wrong? Was she going to cry? “I'm sorry, I'm just a little excited to see you right now, is all.” Oh.

Eren heard another set of footsteps and he would be lying if he said he wasn't a little relieved to see the captain walking in.

“Hanji, I told you not to go on before me. Look, you scared him. He's hiding in the corner now.”

Eren hadn't even realized he was in the corner. He swam over a little to the front of the tank and put his hand up to the glass.

Hanji pointed to herself and when Eren nodded she smiled and walked up to tank, placing her hand on the glass where Eren's was.

“I'm Hanji,”

“ _Eren.”_

She stared at him, a confused look in her eye. “I don't speak mermaid, sorry.”

Eren didn't bother telling her all she had to do was touch his scales; he doesn't quite trust her yet.

He saw out of the corer of his eye that Petra had woken up and was smiling at him with a look of affection in her eyes. Auruo was still asleep and sprawled out like a starfish, except he was now laying on his stomach.

“Say, Eren?” Hanji asked. “Would you mind coming to my side of the lab tomorrow? I just want to run some tests on you.”

Eren shrugged.

“Well, I'll come back tomorrow morning and see how you feel.”

When they both left, Petra got out of bed and sat down by Eren's tank. She leaned up against it and sighed.

“I didn't think she'd ask about the experiments so early.”

“ _I was meaning to ask you about that, but you wouldn't wake up.”_

“Sorry, I was having a really good dream. What did you want to ask?”

“ _The captain came in last night and-.”_

“He did?!” Petra yelled.

“ _Yes. And he was talking to Hanji, I guess, on something-.”_

“Probably his phone.” Petra interrupted, again.

“ _And he said something about experiments. What are they?”_

“Oh no, if he was talking about Hanji doing experiments, then you're in trouble.”

“ _What? Why?”_

“Well, sometimes her experiments end in the death of whatever she's experimenting on. Sometimes it's something worse.”

“ _What could be worse than death?"_

“Ah, sorry. I've said too much already. But, I'm sure you'll be fine tomorrow!”

“ _You're a terrible person.”_

“That's so mean!”

Auruo sat up in bed and groaned. “What are you guys doing up so early? I'm trying to sleep!”

“It's about twelve right now. We both slept in too late. I'm surprised the captain didn't yell at us when he was in here.”

“He was here?!”

Petra nodded. “Yep.”

“He didn't do anything funny while we were asleep, did he Eren?”

“ _No, all he did was stand by the door and watch me and Hanji.”_

“Alright, just checking.” Auruo got out of bed and stretched. “Let's go get breakfast, I'm hungry.”

“It's way past breakfast, so let's go get lunch instead.”

“ _You guys are just gonna leave me here?”_

“We'll be right back, don't worry.”

~

When an hour had passed (if Eren had read the clock correctly, that is) and Petra and Auruo still weren't back, Eren started to get a little worried.

He perked up when he heard footsteps approaching the door.

When Hanji came in with her hand behind her back and asked “Petra and Auruo are gone, right?”, Eren felt even more worried than before.

She climbed up the ladder and leaned into Eren's tank. He swam to the other side and hissed at her when he saw something sharp and pointy in her hand.

The man from yesterday (Moblit, Eren recalled) came running in and went pale when he saw Hanji leaning in to the tank.

“Ah, that's dangerous, please be careful!”

“I'm fine. Grab my legs so I can reach him.”

Moblit sighed. “Yes, ma'am.” He grabbed her legs and Hanji reached her hands farther into Eren's tank.

“Now, Eren, please cooperate. I couldn't wait until tomorrow to do my experiments on you, so I decided to wait until Petra and Auruo left so I could sedate you and take you back to my part of the lab.”

The fans on the sides of Eren's head flared out and he hissed at her again.

“ _Leave me alone! Petra! Auruo!”_ He swung his tail at her and she smiled.

“Big mistake.”

She grabbed his tail and stuck the needle in it.

Eren felt himself getting weaker and weaker until he finally just gave up and closed his eyes.

Hanji took the advantage to pull Eren out of the water and and handed him to Moblit.

“Okay, we have to get out of here before anyone catches us.” She whispered.

She opened the door and motioned to Moblit that it was safe to go.

~

Somehow, they both made it to their side of the lab without getting caught and before Eren woke up.

Moblit set him down on the examination table and stepped back.

Hanji grabbed another needle and stuck it in Eren's arm, drawing his blood. She handed it to Moblit and he filled a tube with the red liquid.

She plucked four of Eren's scales; a blue one and a lime green one from his tail and two of the same color from his left arm. She placed them under a microscope so she could look at them later.

She pulled a scalpel from a drawer and that's when Eren woke up. He looked around and started to freak out, calling out for Petra and Auruo.

“Moblit, grab another needle!”

He handed her one and Hanji took Eren's arm in her hand as gently as she could and stuck the needle in it.

“I'm sorry.” She whispered. “But I have to look at your vocal cords.”

Eren didn't even try and fight it this time, he just let the feeling of sedation wash over him.

~

When Eren woke up, he was in a completely different room again.

It kind of looked just like the shower room back on the boat, he thought.

He looked around and saw Petra and Auruo sitting on the ledge of the shower with matching looks of worry on their faces.

He tired to sing and ask what was going on, but found that all that came out was a raspy sound.

“Eren, please don't try to sing, it might damage them even more.” 

He raised his eyebrows. _“Damage?”_ He wanted to ask.

“Your vocal cords, I mean.” Petra specified. “Hanji had a little mishap when she was checking them and accidentally bumped them with the scalpel. Don't worry though, you should be fine in a week or so.” 

Eren slumped his shoulders and felt like sighing. 

“Oh, come on! This atmosphere is depressing enough!” Auruo dumped the bucket of water he was holding over Eren's head and smiled. “It's only a week! Cheer up!” 

“Auruo! The reason we're in the shower room is so we can keep his scales soaked without getting the bandages wet!” 

“Well, excuse me for trying to lighten up the gloomy atmosphere that you've set!” 

“That I've set?! What's that supposed to mean?” 

Auruo scoffed. “You know damn well!”

Eren smiled and rolled his eyes.

It's going to be a long week.

 

 

 

 


	5. The First Thing He Says Is "Thank You"

_Eren smiled and rolled his eyes._

_It's going to be a long week._

Except really, it wasn't all that long.

Eren spent most of the week sitting in the shower room with Petra and Auruo, listening to the stories they told.

Since Eren wasn't able to speak, he just smiled and nodded or shook his head whenever they needed a reaction or answer from him.

Right now, Auruo was explaining to Eren that what the captain had said about them was true.

“I hate to say it, but we both figured you should have the right to hear it from us.” He sighed before continuing. “Maybe you've already forgotten about it, or maybe you don't even care anymore, but what the captain said was true. Petra was the one who dived underwater and reported to the captain that there were mer-people residing there. Her and I were the ones that pulled you out of the water.”

Eren pretty much knew all of this, but he was still shocked to actually hear them admit to it.

He pulled his tail up to his chest and wrapped his arms around it. He rested his head on it and resisted the urge to sigh.

“Well? No reaction?” Auruo asked.

Eren shrugged.

“Let's just leave it alone for now.” Petra suggested. “At least it's out in the open and he knows the truth. Let's talk about something else right now, okay?”

Eren nodded.

Petra was the one to change the subject. “You're getting your bandages off tomorrow, are you excited?”

“He does, but that means he has to visit Hanji so she can remove them and make sure everything is okay, right?”

Eren felt a shudder wrack throughout his body. He was excited that he was finally getting the bandages off, sure, but he really wasn't looking forward to seeing Hanji again.

He knows what she did was so they can know more about his species, and that really was the only reason he was here, but she didn't have to go so far as sedating him and stealing him from his tank.

Petra stood up off the ledge of the shower. “Well, I'm going to go get lunch. I'll have Auruo stand by the door so no one comes in, okay?” She turned to look at Auruo. “What do you want to eat?”

Auruo told her what he wanted and then she looked back at Eren.

“Would you like another bucket of fish?”

Eren nodded.

For some reason, since he's been here, he gets more hungry quicker then usual. He thinks it might be because in the small cove he used to live in, there was tons of mer-people living there and very few that could actually hunt for their food, so everyone had very small portions they got to eat.

Now that he's here, he's free to eat as much as he wants, so he takes advantage of it.

Petra and Auruo both walk out the door, but Auruo stays put in front of it. He leaves the door open a little and sticks his hand through it so Eren knows he's still there.

Eren smiles at the small gesture.

~

Petra comes back ten or so minutes later carrying two white, Styrofoam boxes in one hand and a bucket of fish in the other.

Auruo grabs the food boxes from her, so she doesn't drop them, and closes the door behind them.

They both sit down on the shower ledge again and Petra sets the bucket down next to Eren while Auruo hands Petra her food.

All three of them ate in the comfortable silence of the shower room.

After they were finished eating, Auruo set the food boxes to the side and Petra asked, “Hey, Eren? You feeling dry yet?”

Eren nodded.

Petra smiled and turned the shower on. Eren covered the bandages with his hands.

She shut the water off and sat directly in front of Eren, massaging the water into the scales on his tail.

“How's it feel Eren? Good? Wait, you can't talk. Hmm, how about you put one finger up for 'yes' and two for 'no'?”

Eren lifted his arm up and showed Petra one of his fingers.

Petra smiled. “Okay, good. Just let me know when to stop.”

A few minutes afterward, Eren didn't know how many fingers he should hold up for 'stop' so he held up two for 'no'.

Petra stopped her makeshift massage and looked up at Eren.

“All done?”

Eren nodded.

“Alright.” Petra wiped her hands on Auruo's jacket and he jumped.

“What the hell?!” He yelled.

“Shh, no swearing in front of the baby.”

Eren snorted when Auruo jumped but started growling when Petra called him a baby.

“ _I'm not a baby!”_ He wanted to shout.

“Eren! Don't make any sounds!”

Auruo laughed. “Does snorting even come from the vocal cords? Doesn't it come from your nose?”

“He didn't just snort! He started growling, didn't you hear that?”

Auruo shrugged. “I guess I was too busy yelling about you get water on my jacket!”

“Oh, it's just water! Calm down.”

“Hmph.” Auruo crossed his arms and turned away from Petra.

Petra laughed. “I guess I was wrong, if anyone here is a baby, it's you, Auruo.”

“You little-! Get back here!”

Petra jumped up and ran away from Auruo, laughing.

“You can't catch me!”

Both of them froze when the door opened and the captain walked in.

“What are you two doing in here?” He demanded.

Auruo cleared his throat. “Um, nothing, sir.”

“Right. The reason I've come here is because I need to take Eren to Hanji's part of the lab. If you'll ple-.”

“Wait, sir, I thought he wasn't getting the bandages off until tomorrow? Why does Hanji need him now, all of a sudden?” Auruo asked.

“She said he can get them off a day early.” Levi answered.” Now, come on, pick him up and let's get going.”

“Yes, sir.” Auruo walked back over to the shower and gently picked up Eren.

Eren instantly wrapped his arms around Auruo's neck and rested his head on Auruo's chest, listening to his heartbeat.

Auruo quickly looked back at Petra; she was back to sitting on her spot on the shower ledge. She waved when she noticed Auruo looking at her.

~

When they reached a door labeled 'Hanji', Eren's grip on Auruo tightened.

“Shh, it'll be fine.” Auruo comforted. “All she'll do is take the bandages off and then you'll be able to sing again, okay?”

Eren nodded.

Levi pushed open the door and Hanji jumped up from her chair.

“Ah, welcome back!” She looked over at Auruo and he instinctively backed up. “Just lay Eren down on the examination table over there.”

He did as was asked and was about to walk back over to the door when Eren grabbed his hand.

Auruo sighed and asked, “Can I get a chair over here?”

Hanji nodded. “Sure!” She rolled a chair over to him and he sat down.

“Eren,” Auruo whispered, “loosen your grip, I can barely feel my hand.”

“ _Sorry.”_ Eren wanted to say. He let go of Auruo's hand and lightly held on to his pinky finger.

Hanji walked up to the examination table with a pair of scissors and leaned over to start cutting the bandages off.

To everyone's surprise, Eren didn't move to stop her. She cut the bandages clean off with one movement and she smiled at her smooth work.

“All done with that. Just need to make sure everything’s all together.” She took the bandages off and threw them in the trash. "Oh! My hypothesis was correct! I knew mermaids could regenerate their skin and heal wounds faster than humans! Okay, now try singing, Eren." 

Eren opened his mouth and looked at Auruo and sang out, _“Thank you.”_

Auruo raised his eyebrows and tried to convey “For what?” with his eyes.

Eren just smiled at him.

“Great! You have a really nice singing voice.” Hanji praised.

“So, we're all done?” Auruo asked.

Hanji nodded.

Auruo picked Eren back up and walked out of Hanji's office.

“What was that about in there, Eren?” Auruo questioned when they were halfway back to their room.

“ _Don't worry about it.”_

Auruo sighed. “Fine, whatever.”

~

“Ah, that's great!” Petra exclaimed when Eren sang for her. “Man, I've missed your voice.”

“It's only been six days.”

“ _If I didn't know better, I'd think you were jealous, Auruo.”_

“Shut up, you brat!” Auruo yelled.

Petra laughed. “Although, I think I've missed this more.”

“What?” Both Eren and Auruo asked.

“Nothing.” Petra smiled. “It's nothing.”

“Whatever. Don't say weird things- ah!” Auruo yelled when Eren threw a fish at him.

Eren stuck out his tongue. _“That's for calling me a brat.”_

“I'm gonna kill you!” Auruo started to run over to Eren when Eren yelled out, _“Ah- Petra! Help!”._

Petra stuck out her leg and laughed when Auruo tripped over it.

“I can't believe you actually fell for that.”

“I hate you both.”

“We love you too.” Petra and Eren said in unison. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, Auruo is slowly starting to become Eren's security blanket, huh?


	6. Farewell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, this will be the last full chapter, and then the next one I post will be the epilogue. 
> 
> Enjoy!

About a month after Eren got his bandages off, him, Petra, and Auruo had their very own routine going.

Since there wasn't much the three of them could do because Eren couldn't walk around, they decided to improvise.

They found a tennis ball that they threw back and forth to each other, Levi provided them with a cart for the purpose of easier transportation (but they just used it to run around the lab with Eren), and sometimes Auruo and Petra would fall asleep next to Eren's tank after talking with him for hours.

Mostly, they spent their days being lazy together.

Until the day that Levi called Auruo and Petra out into the hall.

“Hanji and I are thinking of letting Eren back into the ocean.” Was the first thing Levi said when he closed the door to their room.

Petra and Auruo were too shocked to say anything, so Levi continued.

“We've collected all the information we need, so there's no reason to keep him here.”

“Information?” Auruo asked.

Levi nodded. “We have a blood sample, some of his scales, information on his eating habits, his reaction to different environments, and the way mermaids build bonds with different creatures.”

Auruo's raised his eyebrows. “Bonds? Like friendship, right? With us?”

“You both were a big part of our experiment, too. We noted that their was a significant change in his behavior when he was with you two. A good change, though.”

Petra smiled, even as tears started to form in her eyes. “That makes me really happy.” She wiped the tears away and looked up at Levi. “I'm sorry, sir. It's that I never thought I'd have to say goodbye to him.”

Levi sighed. “I figured this would happen, so we're going to put a tracking device on him. We can locate him whenever we want and then you can go visit him. But, you have to make sure he consents to it first.” He pulled a small device from his pocket and handed it to Petra.

“Let him know that we're going to be releasing him soon, then tell him about the tracking device.” Levi ordered before walking back to his office.

“Yes, sir!” Petra and Auruo said in unison before walking back onto their room.

“So, Eren,” Petra started when Auruo closed the door, “did you happen to hear any of that?”

Eren shook his head. _“No, but was it about me?”_

“Sorta, yes. Um, Levi and Hanji are thinking about letting you back into the ocean.”

“ _What?"_

“I know it's a lot to take in, but you'll get to see your friends and colony again.” Petra smiled.

“ _Really? You're not messing with me?”_

Petra shook her head. “I wouldn't joke about this, Eren. But-.”

“ _Oh no, no buts.”_

Petra laughed. “Don't worry, it's nothing bad. It's just that there's a tracking device I have with me and if I put it on you, we'll be able to see where you're at whenever we want. Are you okay with that?”

It took him a few minutes, but Eren eventually answered. _“Yes. I trust you guys. Just please don't try to steal any of my friends.”_

“We won't. Don't worry. Now, can you swim up to the top of the tank so I can put this on you?”

Eren nodded and swam to the top.

Petra climbed up the ladder and smiled at Eren. He smiled back.

“ _I think you should be able to just clip it onto my tail and it should stay on.”_ He lifted his tail up and Petra clipped it onto one of his lime green scales.

“There we go! All done."

“Maybe you should swim around a little.” Auruo suggested. “Make sure it doesn't fall off.”

Eren did a few laps around the tank. He gave a thumbs up when he found the tracking device was still there.

“So, what do you think their gonna do with tank now?” Petra asked as she sat down next to said tank.

“Put in storage?” Auruo shrugged.

“ _Maybe they'll keep it in here to remind you of me.”_

Petra sighed. “I hope not, that'll be sad if they do.”

_“Would it?”_

Petra nodded. “Yes, because you won't be in it anymore. I'll walk in and expect you to still be there, but you won't be.”

“ _I'm sorry.”_

Petra sniffled. “It's okay, it's not your fault.”

Auruo sat down next to Petra and wrapped his arms around her.

“Hey, why don't we just think about all the good times we've had together, okay?”

Petra nodded. “Like that time I tripped you?”

“ _Or that time you tried to carefully put me in the tank but water still splashed over the sides and you got wet?”_

Auruo sighed. “That's not really what I was talking about, but if that makes you guys happy, go ahead and talk about it.”

“ _What about that time I threw a fish at you? That was good."_

Petra laughed. “Wow, we really have had good times together, huh? Thanks, Auruo.”

Auruo smiled. “No problem.”

~

The next day, Levi came into their room again and told them that today was the day that they're going to release Eren, and then he left.

“Auruo, grab Eren so we can put him on the cart.” Petra ordered.

“Yeah.” Auruo acknowledged.

He climbed up the ladder and held his arms out for Eren, waiting for him to swim up to him.

“Come on, Eren. We don't have all day.”

Eren shook his head and refused to swim up.

“What's wrong?”

“ _I don't want to leave you guys.”_

“We'll be able to see each other when ever we want, okay? Remember the tracking device? We'll always be able to see you and make sure you're okay.” Auruo comforted.

Eren swam up to the top of the tank and smiled at Auruo. He smiled back and reached out to grab Eren.

He instantly wrapped his arms around Auruo's neck and rested his head against Auruo's chest, listening to his heart beat.

“I don't think we'll be needing the cart.”

Petra smiled. “Probably not.”

~

Levi gave them two choices: one, they walk down to the docks with Eren so they can get in some alone time or whatever, or two, they could take a car.

They chose choice one because they figured they could use the extra time to freely talk to each other.

But, the time was mostly spent in silence, save for Petra and Eren's soft sniffles.

Auruo didn't really mind the fact that Eren had moved so his head was now on Auruo's neck, nor did he mind the fact that his neck was starting to get soaked. He couldn't tell if it was from the water from the tank still clinging to Eren or Eren's tears. Maybe a mixture of both.

Petra's soft sniffling turned into sobs when they finally reached the docks.

They both sat down on the dock with the lab's boat near it and they took their shoes off, dipping their feet into the cold water.

“Well, this is it, huh? 

Petra nodded. “This is it."

“ _There's still the tracking device, remember?”_

“Yeah. Do you wanna go in the water now, Eren?” Auruo asked.

“ _Yes, please.” Eren nodded._

Auruo stood up and gently dropped Eren into the water. He smiled when Eren poked his head out of the water.

He sat back down and Eren rested his head on the dock.

“ _I love guys, don't forget that, okay?”_

And that's when Auruo started to feel the tears prickle in the corners of his eyes.

“We love you, too.” Auruo and Petra said in unison.

“ _Make sure you guys come back here, I want you to meet my friends.”_

“Let's pick a date, then.”

“ _A month from now?”_

They both nodded. “Sounds good.”

Eren waved before diving back into the water. When he was a few feet away, he resurfaced and waved again.

Auruo and Petra waved back.

“It's like sending our kid to college.” Petra cried.

Auruo smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Let's hope he does well.”  


	7. Epilogue: Farewell, again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, we did it kids! 
> 
> It was a wild ride and I'm so grateful to everyone who rode it. 
> 
> Please enjoy reading this mermaid au one last time. :)

Exactly a month after Auruo and Petra let Eren back into the ocean, they were sitting on the docks again.

“Maybe he forgot?” Petra suggested, breaking the silence that had slowly started to form between the two of them, while they waited for Eren.

“He's probably just late. The ocean is a big place.”

“Hmph.” Petra crossed her arms and fell back onto the dock, sighing. She splashed her feet around the water and said, “do you think his friends will like us?”

Auruo smiled. “Considering we were the reason their friend was taken out of the ocean? Probably not.”

“Yeah, you're probably- whoa!”

“Petra?!” Auruo scrambled over to Petra and pulled her half submerged body out of the water. She shoved her face into his shoulder and let out a shaken, “something grabbed my legs!”

A few seconds later, Eren's head popped up into view.

He laughed. _“Oh man, you should've see your face, Petra!”_

“You jerk!"

Eren let out another laugh. _“I'm sorry.”_ He said, very unconvincingly.

“Sure you are.”

Auruo changed the subject. “You're late.”

_“Yeah, it was hard for me to get my friends to come along. It took forever, but they're here!”_

He disappeared for a few seconds, then reappeared, this time with two other mer-people.

 _“This is Mikasa.”_ Eren introduced. The mermaid with black hair nodded. _“And this is Armin.”_ The merman with blonde hair smiled and waved.

“Nice to meet you.” Petra smiled. “My name's Petra.”

“I'm Auruo.” He rubbed his neck. “So, ah, do you guys sing instead of talking too?”

 _“Yes, everyone who lives in our colony does.”_ Mikasa answered in a voice that Petra would call rough and sweet at the same time. She didn't quite understand how that combination worked so well, but she wanted to hear more of it.

“Oh, alright.” Was all Auruo said.

Eren sighed. _“Oh, come on! You guys are so stiff! What's wrong?”_

“Well, it's just that we were kind of the ones that took you from your friends.” Auruo started.

“So now we feel kind of bad.” Petra finished.

Armin smiled. _“It's alright. Eren told us everything about you guys. We understand why you did what you did.”_

Auruo let out a sigh of relief. “Ah, that's good to hear. We still feel bad though, and we're really sorry.”

“Hey, I was wondering, may we see your tails?” Petra asked Armin and Mikasa.

They both looked over at Eren and he nodded, as if to say, _“It'll be fine. Don't worry.”_

“One at a time, if you don't mind.”

Mikasa looked over at Armin and he nodded.

“Are you going first?” Petra asked Mikasa.

She nodded. _“Yes.”_

Auruo held out his arms and helped pull Mikasa out of he water.

Petra smiled. “You're scales are beautiful. Especially when the sun hits them.”

_“Thank you.”_

“Do you mind if we take a few back with us?” Petra asked.

She shook her head. _“Go ahead.”_

_“Wow, still thinking about work even now, huh?”_

“Shut up, you brat.” Auruo said as he plucked two of Mikasa's scales.

Eren stuck his tongue out.

“Hanji told us not to let this chance pass us by. She told us to collect as many different scales as we can.” Petra explained as Auruo helped Mikasa back into the water, and Armin out of it.

“Whoa.” Auruo and Petra both exclaimed when they caught sight of Armin's scales.

 _“Is something wrong?”_ He asked.

“No, exactly the opposite.” Petra shook her head. “Your scales are gorgeous.”

Armin smiled. _“Thank you very much.”_

After Auruo plucked a few of Armin's scales and helped him back into the water, the five of them talked with each other for a while.

"So, there's other mer-people living down there, right?" Auruo pointed towards the water.

Eren nodded. _"Yeah, there's tons of us! I have more friends down there, too. We're separated into the civilian group, then there's the cove keepers who are in charge of the cleaning of the cove and are responsible for taking care of the newborns, and then finally, there's the hunters that hunt for the clan."_

"The way you guys have things set up is kind of like humans." Petra smiled.

 _"Really?"_ Armin questioned, interested in knowing more about the human world.

"Yeah, but can anyone because a hunter?"

 _"No, you have to go through special training at a certain age. If you fail it, you're not aloud to try again."_   Mikasa answered.

"No second chances?"

She shook her head. _"Not one."_

"Harsh." Auruo cringed.

 _"Yeah, but that's just how they ward off the weak. I bet I can do it! Easily!"_ Eren puffed his chest out with pride.

Auruo rolled his eyes. “Kid, do you really think you can become a hunter? At your age?”

“ _I'm not a kid! I'm five shells!”_

“Five shells?”

“ _Roughly around fifteen human years.”_ Armin provided

Aururo laughed. “You're fifteen? Good luck becoming a hunter that young.”

“ _Well, how old are you?”_ Eren asked, face burning in anger.

“Nineteen.”

Eren physically deflated. _“And you're not a hunter?”_

“Do I look like one?”

“ _Well, that's probably just because you're one of the weak!”_

“What did you just say?”

“Now, now, children. Settle down.” Petra cut in before things got worse.

Mikasa and Armin smiled fondly.

“Is he like this with you guys, too?” Petra asked.

They both nodded.

Petra smiled. “Well, I wish you guys good luck with him.”

Armin smiled back and Mikasa said, “ _same to you about him.”_

Petra laughed. “Thank you."

~

A few hours later, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin all said goodbye and dove back into the water.

Petra felt tears form in her eyes and she sighed. “Why do goodbyes hurt so much?”

Auruo put a arm around her. “Just remember this: they're not gone, they're just not here right now.”

Petra laughed through her tears. “Wow, that was deep.”

Auruo smiled. “Thanks, I got it from a web series.”

Petra shook her head and wiped the tears from her face, sighing. “Well, shall we get going?”

“Yeah, let's go.” He held out his hand and Petra took it, smiling.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll still be posting fics after this one. I've got about three jeanmarco fics in the works, and one that I might make dmmd. So, please look forward to that. :) 
> 
> And thanks again to everyone that read and liked this fic! It means a lot to me!


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